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Are 'Buyers Liars' or Do We Need To Be Better Listeners?

I've always detested that little saying about buyers being liars but, you'll understand the point of my title if you read further...

I'm always thrilled to be the recipient of a phone call from a disgruntled customer in need of an agent immediately! However, there's a part of me who feels a little sorry for the 'other' agent. Silly, I know but, we've all either been new or done something that we have looked back on and thought, "How on earth did I blow that?!" I just can't help those ambivalent feelings though--thrilled to have a new buyer but, a bit sad for the other agent.

I recently received one of those phone calls. Of course, I found that the buyer hadn't ever signed a buyers agency agreement because he was a bit unsure as to whether or not the agent would be 'right' for him. We discussed his needs and sure enough, he was truly prepared to locate a home and write an Offer immediately just as he said he would.

We initially, by phone, discussed this customer's needs. He had very specific lifestyle needs and very specific home needs. The easy part for me was locating the neighborhood based upon his lifestyle needs. Without sharing specifics, he had never even been ASKED anything about his lifestyle needs OR his preferences in a neighborhood. He had only been told to 'Tell me how many bedrooms and baths and what price range' by his former agent.

Well, there are a lot of 4-bedroom, 3-bath homes in a variety of neighborhoods in the Charlotte Metro area. There are TONS of them in the price range which he was searching. After seeing more than 25 homes, he lost faith in his agent and began phoning around to see if he could quickly interview agents by phone and then meet with a couple to see if they 'got it' (his needs, of course).

I just happened to be the Realtor® that won the prize - a fantastic client who viewed ONE home and wrote an Offer! How often does THAT happen?! It was the sweetest deal I've had in a very long time--no hiccups whatsoever!

Which leads me to the point of this post...

If we Realtors® would really listen and stop just trying to 'land the deal,' we'd actually prove that buyers really AREN'T 'liars' - they simply need to be heard. So, listen-up! It'll not only make for happy clients but, will make your life SO much easier as well!